Rating:
Home   0-9   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z   Foreign Films
  Rupal
  
Shah
Long Way Down
UK, 2008
[David Alexanian & Russ Malkin]
Ewen McGregor, Charley Boorman
Documentary
7th August
2008
For those of you who don�t know me, since the age of about five I�ve been obsessed with the ins and outs of all cultures, the non-familiar being more intriguing than the familiar of course.  When it comes to learning about other people�s code of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as their art I guiltily confess I get extremely giddy inside.

So imagine how delighted I was when I found seven 45 minute back-to-back episodes of
Long Way Round recapped on TV last year. I DVR�d that bad boy like nobody�s business even though I ended up glued to the TV, watching it through in one sitting. But, you know, in case I missed a minute due to a bathroom break, I wanted to make sure I could go back and watch it. Over and over again.

If you haven�t heard of
Long Way Round it�s basically about extremely famous actor Ewan McGregor (Scottish) and his not-so-extremely-famous-but-oh-so-sweet best pal Charley Boorman (English), travelling 19,000 miles from London all the way through mainland Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, to Alaska and in the end to New York on motorcycles. Of course they encounter many hiccups with border crossings, road obstacles and whatnots, and if that is ever released as a one-off cinema showing I�ll definitely review that too.

At the moment though I�m focusing on the British duo�s latest epic adventure
Long Way Down. This documentary follows a similar premise only the journey is a tad shorter and they travel from North to South instead, from John O�Groats, the northern most tip of Scotland, down to Cape Town, the southernmost tip of Africa. Their journey started May 12, 2007 and finished on August 4th, 2007.

Though
Long Way Down is being released on DVD later this year and being aired on TV in the US on August 2nd, 2008, I was lucky enough to catch an exclusive one-off cinema showing that Century Theaters across the US were putting on July 31st. Hence this exclusive. The cinema version omits a good two hours of footage that will be later shown on TV and the DVD release so this is technically a review of the movie version, which is why I�ve been able to review it at all.

As much as I want to ramble about their actual country-to-country visit I�ll keep it down to a list of countries they crossed with minimal comments. Starting in Scotland at the McGregor Family home they go down to London, through the Eurotunnel to France, then to Italy and end the European leg in Sicily. They then catch the ferry to Tunisia, on to Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya (literally crossing the equator), on to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, finally ending up in Cape Town, South Africa. Remember, this is all on motorbikes. Well, apart from the ferry bit, duh.

Unlike
Long Way Down, Ewan and Charley bring along a full entourage of medics, a camera man, local fixers and interpreters since they anticipated the many unknown dangers they were pre-warned about. I have to admit that Long Way Round was a little more enjoyable in the sense that the team didn�t know exactly what to expect and that was half the intrigue. With such a heavy back-up team, things have a more planned feel but of course all in all still enjoyable to watch.

My most favorite thing about the series is the chemistry shared between Ewan and Charley. They rely on each other to keep their spirits up through thick and thin. Quite often, when one is feeling down, the other takes it upon himself to cheer him up. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

A moment I can't resist mentioning is when Ewan and Charley went to visit an old
Star Wars set in Tunisia. Ewan was expecting to be mobbed my tourists but no one actually recognized him! After getting over some mild embarrassment he had a chuckle and was able to wander around freely and enjoy the set as a tourist. Refreshing, I bet.

The documentary managed to capture a mix of humor yet managed to touch on some of the more serious issues as well. Ewan and Charley were moved to tears when learning about a particular high school massacre as well as the tragic history of a small town in Kenya. The duo also spent time working with UNICEF, a charity you could see they felt very strongly about.

Something I found very touching was how generous and friendly the locals they met were.  Ewan and Charley were welcomed by some of the poorest people. They literally had houses made of sticks and old bits of cloth with barely enough food to go around within their own family, and yet they shared what little food they had and made Ewan and Charley feel at home.  The team was visibly dumbstruck by the incredible generosity especially after being told horror stories of all the dangers and corruption they should anticipate.

All in all this was just a film about two pals riding around on their motorcycles trying to appreciate other cultures and ways of living and having a good laugh. Just as they left Africa with a different perspective on life, I too left the cinema with similar feelings.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1